>And I've heard that sometimes Ghislaine de Feligonde needs spraying in certain areas. But I still think it's really pretty. I still haven't ruled it out for another empty spot in the yard. Do you grow it? Is it doing well for you? Thanks Mary. I think it would be good for your other spot too. I've been growing it (still in its original pot) for the longest time... almost 2 months now. So I'm really an expert on that rose!!! :D But anyway, so far it's absolutely perfectly healthy in maybe four or four and a half hours of midday sun here on hold awaiting planting. Perfectly healthy, in spite of the times when I've watered too late and in spite of some bits of rainfall lasting off and on all night or most of the night (like last night). It's a vigorous grower (similar to Fortuniana here bought at the same time--both in 2-gallon pots) and needs to go into the ground, but I'm not planting any of the new ones in the new spot until I'm fairly certain that the spread of RRD among the pot ghetto of new roses has stopped... and unfortunately I'm not at all certain of that at this point. My book by Barbara Wilde speculates that more people would have heard of and tried this rose if it just had some more prosiac name like "Carefree Garland." Peter Beales says "I can't think of a good reason why this rose has not gained the popularity it deserves." Beales lists it as shade tolerant enough to be planted on a north wall or northerly aspect. For me, one of the attractions for this rose is its appeal as a shrub/climber in the landscape. Fragrant prolific blooms that are cuttable are a plus. As far as no-spray goes, I'd think that the most pertinent experience would be from someone in your own area who has tried it, even though I'm seeing writers from widely different areas who think it's strongly disease-resistant. I'd also think that if someone trying it does use chemicals on other nearby plants, that that practice might have an effect on the overall health of the healthy soil balance of micro organisms that the plant depends on to make its own disease-protection systems work. Judging from the information I've seen from Paul Zimmerman, a more pertinent question for local rosarians might be about the disease-resistant conditions of the plant in year three or four of growing in a no disease spray yard, not in year one. If plants are left alone in a no-spray yard to develop their own disease resistance, it might take 1-3 years to accomplish that. But by year four, if the grower isn't feeling comfortable that its looks/health are acceptable and an asset to the yard, then you might chalk it up to a rose that doesn't meet your standards for good disease resistance and not try it, or get rid of it if you've had it that long. That said, sometimes a rose is just so disease resistant that it seems healthy from day one in an organically oriented yard. Like Mortimer Sackler, this rose might be one of those kinds. Anyway, I'm thrilled to have a Ghislaine De Feligonde and if it goes to RRD, I'll for sure be ordering it again. Best wishes, Mary

Hi Rokal, How did you overwintered dwarf orinoco? Noticed picture of fruiting tree was on October 27. Kind a late for that. Did you succeed ripening fruit back then? I live in Queens (zone 7b) and been growing all kind of bananas and other tropicals for past 5 years. Usually I overwinter bananas in indoor greenhouse under grow lights but they got to get incredibly huge and overgrown. Last winter tried to make them go dormant and store barerooted in the basement. It didn't work for they freeze too much at the first hard frost while being dig up, potted up and stored in unheard greenhouse and later eventually rotted while Musa Basjoo did pretty well as I left them in the ground and dig up after the frost. Overwintered them bareroot in peat moss and wrapped in the burlap and this spring all of them sprouted new shoots thought old pseudostems showed no signs of life. Happy to hear there are more banana growers around New York City:)

I think that the Hydrangeas that I overwinter do best if they're allowed to get very cold and very dormant during the winter. The times I put them into a too warm place they don't do as well. And they always want to send out flowers long before I'm ready. It's a funny sight to go down to a cellar and see this plant with white, bleached out foliage and flower in the late winter. It still will do OK, but not the best. I've always thought it must be the equivalent of keeping me up all night. I look pretty OK, but I'm not really OK. I'd keep them outside as long as I could and then try to find a place that was very very cold. I end up keeping mine all outside under cover of some sort. That's always worked best for me. If I have plants inside a cellar, say, I water very sparingly. Very. Hay

Hey Natanya, you may get better responses posting in the "Roses" Forum instead of here in the Rose Gallery Forums, but I have a couple of recommendations :) New Dawn is not bright pink, but is a great climber for beginners and is good up to zone 5b (which is good). Blossomtime is a bit darker pink than New Dawn, but it is a sport of New Dawn so it has very good disease resistance and very pretty flowers. Altissimo and Dortmund are beautiful red singles that are very disease resistant, and that red would POP on tan siding! America is a salmon-pink rose that is very stunning, also good for your climate zone, very good disease resistance and have seen it in a neighbors yard, very very nice. Some roses I have looked at before online but have to experience with are: Jasmina, Laguna, & Rosarium Uetersen. You could do a whole lot more if you were willing to spray every 2 weeks for blackspot/mildew and such, but I think these could be a very good starting point for you :) I'm pretty sure all of these roses are good for your zone and can withstand your winters. Check out the Help Me Find Roses website and you can search for these roses and see pictures and read how tall they will get etc. Good luck! Natalie Here is a link that might be useful: Help Me Find Roses!